The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubioexcluded on Wednesday Cuba from the list of countries that will receive US aid after the devastating Hurricane Melissa.
“The United States is in close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, which are facing the devastating effects of Hurricane Melissa,” Rubio published in X.
“We have rescue and response teams heading to affected areas along with vital life-saving supplies. Our prayers are with the people of the Caribbean,” added the head of US diplomacy, who did not include Cuba among the assisted countries even though the island also suffered the impact of the cyclone.
Rubio historically defended a policy of sanctions and pressure against the Cuban regime, which explains his position in the face of the current humanitarian crisis.
Melissa, the most severe hurricane of the Atlantic season, left more 3.5 million people without electricitywith serious damage from floods and landslides, after the passage of Melissa.
The Caribbean country was the last country to receive the impact of Hurricane Melissa on Wednesdaywhich left millions of people without electricity, cut off towns and flooded municipalities, with numerous material damages as it passed through the east of the island.
Collapsed homes, flooded crops and isolated populations marked the impact of the first hurricane to make landfall in Cuba this year.
For now, the Civil Defense has not reported any fatalities or missing persons, although many affected rural and mountainous areas remain without access for rescue teams, due to the rains that caused river overflows, sudden floods and landslides.
The dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel spoke of “extensive damage“after a”very complex early morning“, but the authorities have not yet released a preliminary balance of losses. Among the damaged buildings is the National Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of Cobreone of the most revered Catholic sites on the island.
The rector of the sanctuary, Rogelio Dean Puertalamented: “It has been a night of great pain and great tension.. Hurricane Melissa hit the town of El Cobre with incredible force. The elders say that they had never seen anything like this before”.
Testimonies like that of Eliécer, a 43-year-old resident, portray the anguish experienced after the total destruction: “I was left for dead several times when the hurricane winds moved my zinc sheet house like a maraca. I curled up with my kitten and I said goodbye to my dog, who drowned when the water rose more than a meter”.
In Santiago de Cuba, Many residents lost their homes or suffered severe damage from the hurricane.. “It is not easy to lose everything you have. The little you have,” said Mariela Reyes, an affected neighbor whose roof was torn off by the winds.
Images from the disaster area show the desolation of Cubans, as communities try to protect the little they managed to save from the rubble.
(With information from EFE)
